When You Say No
by luberly
Summary: This is the third installment of the RangeWoman Series. It follows immediately after A Leap of Faith. Lester has been kidnapped. The whole of RangeMan looks for clues about who is behind this. How will Stephanie and Ranger cope with this latest hiccup?
1. Chapter 1

This follows immediately after 'A Leap of Faith' but from a different point-of-view.

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_Lester's POV_

I've always known that Ranger and Beautiful belonged together and I never begrudged their time together, but I was not looking forward to this trip at all. Tank called me into his office earlier this morning to tell me I was needed in Atlanta. A customer wanted to see the owner but Ranger was busy last tonight.

I asked Tank what Ranger was up to, but he was reluctant to say, so I guessed and said, "Is he finally out with Beautiful?" Tank didn't really confirm or deny, but I was happy for them. They've been dancing around their feelings for years and it was almost like torture watching the pain on their faces when they were apart.

Ranger spent more time down in the gym when Beautiful with on again with Morelli, and Steph always moped when Ranger was in the wind. It was sad to watch and that's why I always goaded Ranger whenever I got the chance. I hoped it would push him to say something that he couldn't take back in the presence of Beautiful. Unfortunately, he just kept taking me to the mats instead of dealing with his feelings.

Now, I am on my way to talk to a customer who really wants to talk to Ranger. I know Ranger is hoping that I can charm this customer so he doesn't have to head down to Atlanta, but I had my doubts. I read the file for this particular customer and they seem to think that they should get special treatment. In fact, they refused to sign the original contract unless Ranger went down and personally saw to it.

I remember that Ranger was reluctant to do this, but in the end, he went down and spent about 15 minutes with the customer. During that time, he made it very clear that no special treatment would be given to them and that he, Ranger, would not come down to Atlanta for every small problem. The customer didn't like this but accepted it. Ranger hasn't been back since.

I think he's hoping that this time, they'll see me as a way of getting more senior attention, but not Ranger himself. I have no idea if this will work, but if it gives him and Beautiful time to sort out their relationship, I'll just suck it up and schmooze this customer as best as I can.

My thoughts went back to Beautiful and Ranger. If I'm 100% honest with myself, I'm jealous of him. I always have been a little jealous of Ranger. Everything seemed to come to him so easily. I love Beautiful, but I am not really in love with her, so I'm not jealous of that aspect of their relationship. I'm more jealous of the fact that they have a relationship at all.

I know what you're thinking. I'm a playboy who is the king of one night stands. You're not wrong there, but I behave that way because I've never really met that one special woman to tame me and mend my ways. I look and I look hard, but I'm beginning to think that I'm getting too old to go clubbing ever free night in an attempt to find miss right. Also, the types of girls that go there aren't really the ones I'd want to take home to Mama, if you catch my drift.

Maybe I should talk to Beautiful when I get back to Trenton. She might have an idea of where I could meet some nice ladies like her. I started to think about the qualities I would want in a partner and I got kind of side tracked. I was brought out of my reverie by the pilot announcing that the plane was making its final descent.

The plane would be landing in about 20 minutes, so I gathered the files on the client together and put them back in my bag. I was standing and waiting at the door when the plane came to a stop, eager to get this meeting over with. I am wearing my best suit because it's the only one tailored to hide my shoulder harness. I'm sure it won't be needed, but I'd rather be dressed for success than regret it later.

I was told that a RangeMan car would be waiting for me when we landed so I wasn't surprised to see a black SUV waiting on the tarmac when I climbed down the stairs. I carried my bag over to the SUV and climbed into the back seat behind two guys I didn't know. They smiled at me and welcomed me by name, so I sat back and closed my eyes.

I was dragged out of my slumber when the driver slammed on the breaks and yanked opened the back door. I realised at that point that something was wrong because I saw that the driver wasn't wearing a RangeMan uniform. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to do anything. Before I knew it, I was plucking a tranquiliser dart out of my arm as I reached into my pocket searching for my panic button. Everything went black before I was able to press the button.

When I awoke later, I was bound and gagged in a dark room, tied upright to a chair. I looked around the room looking for anything to indicate the time or my location, but there were no clues. Based on the dampness and the smell, I was in a basement or a cellar. I held my breath and tried to listen to see if there was any noise coming from anywhere. All I could hear was my heartbeat, so I started breathing again.

I fought against my the ropes binding my hands but there was no wiggle room at all. Whoever tied me up knew exactly what they were doing. I struggled against the ropes binding my feet and found that there was a bit more promise there.

I felt my chair with my hands and felt that the seat was metal but the back and legs felt like they were made of wood. I could use that to my advantage if given the opportunity. For now, I'll just relax and try to get as much rest as possible so I can reserve my strength. If nobody comes by in the next 24 hours, I'll have to come up with something else because going that long without food and water will sap my strength.

I rested as best as I could, keeping an ear out for any change in the sound or the atmosphere of the house. I must have slept some, but something woke me up sometime later. I kept my head down and moved my eyes around the room to see if there were any changes. I couldn't see anything but I could hear a dull mechanical noise that wasn't there when I woke up the first time.

I sat still and listened hard and after about 5 minutes, I decided that the noise must be a generator or a heating unit of some sort. This indicated to me that other people might be here or they would show up eventually.

I was proven right a few minutes later when I heard footsteps and voices upstairs. They were speaking Spanish, but a specific regional dialect that was very familiar with. Ranger, Tank, Bobby and I spent two years crawling through the mountains and jungles of Colombia. The men were speaking the Paisa dialect that is spoken in the central and western parts of Columbia.

That area was where we were operating during our missions, so it appears that they have found us. The question now is whether they were after me or Ranger.

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Who do you think did it? Would you like more?


	2. Chapter 2

As usual, these are not my characters. I just like to mould them a little differently than originally intended.

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_Ranger's POV_

Babe and I arrived back at RangeMan and walked directly into the conference room. The room was already filled with men working on a way to locate Lester. I stood at the front of the room and said, "Report."

Tank stood and explained that they were still waiting on the search results they ran on the customer who requested the trip to Atlanta. I turned and looked at my Babe and she understood that I wanted her to leave the room and go hurry the search along. I watched as my Babe walked out of the conference room.

I turned my attention back to Tank and they went over all of the information provided by the Atlanta office. After 20 minutes, it was clear that we had no leads. I smiled when Babe walked in the room a few minutes later with a pile of papers from the search.

I asked, "Did you find anything Babe?"

She shook her head and said, "I have had a quick look through the finances of the company, but I haven't found anything so far. I think we should move forward and start to run searches on the staff at the company. I have a feeling that we're missing something here."

I nodded and said, "How many employees are there?"

Babe grimaced and said, "Around 80."

There was no way that Stephanie could run 80 searches alone and my men were too busy running down leads and communicating with contacts to be of much help. I looked around the room hoping that some inspiration would come to me when Babe said, "I can call in Lula. It won't take me long to teach her how to run a search and she has good instincts."

"Great idea, Babe. Divide the searches between the two of you and order any food you want to keep us going."

Steph smiled at me and went to call Lula. She then poked her head into my office to give me thumbs up and then went to work on the searches while we broke into groups to brainstorm more ideas and run down some contacts and leads.

Just after 2 AM, there was a knock at my door. I looked up to see Tank holding a cup of coffee and a muffin. I gratefully accepted his gift and asked if there was any news. Tank shook his head but did offer some news. "Bombshell and Lula are speeding their way through the searches. They're more than 1/2 way through. So far they've found nothing, but we'll be the first to know when they do.

I sighed and said, "It's been a long time since we've had one of these crises for someone other than Stephanie. I thought it would be easier, but it's not. I'm terrified that something horrible will happen to Lester, and I can't seem to get over the fact that he may not have been the actual target."

Tank nodded and said, "There's nothing you can do about the fact that Lester was taken. All we can do is find out why he was taken and where he is. Once we have that information, we can get him back."

Tank always helped me put things into perspective. There was a reason he was my right-hand man, and it wasn't just because he was reasonable and dependable. He was my friend and we had each others back. We'd been through a lot together and our friendship has stood throughout.

I took a sip of my coffee and looked up when Babe and Lula burst into my office. Babe handed me a piece of paper that showed a bank transfer from an account in Bogota into the account of one of the VPs at the customer's company. The name of the account holder in Bogota was the last name on my list of enemies.

Babe started to talk really quickly and I had to ask her to repeat herself a few times. "The transfer happened three hours before Lester's plane landed. Hal contacted a friend of his in the FBI and the confirmed that three Colombian nationals flew into Atlanta late last night. Based on this information, it seems like this man Roman Dias is the originator of the funds.

"When I read this, my spidey senses went off. Something about this whole thing seems a bit off to me. That's when Lula found her information."

I looked over at Lula and she handed me another piece of paper. This one showed a money trail starting with the US government and ending with the Dias transfer. I looked up at Lula and asked, "How the hell did you get your hands on this information?"

Lula looked a bit affronted by his language but she just smiled and said, "I picked up the phone and called an old client of mine. He works for the NSA and let's just say that he did me a favour in exchange for my silence about our little relationship."

I was amazed at this resource and said, "That's amazing Lula. Between you and Stephanie, I now understand what's going on. Let's go back to the conference room and I'll explain it from the start."

We all filed into the conference room and once everyone was seated I started to talk. "Thanks for coming ladies and gentlemen. Some new information has been provided that leads me to believe that I know who has taken Lester.

"Stephanie uncovered some money transfers to an employee at our client's company. Those transfers appear to come from Bogota from the account of Ramon Dias. Upon further examination and acquired information from confidential sources, Lula has uncovered that this is an intentional mislead. The money was actually paid by the U.S. government. I recognised the account numbers used and it shows that my old handler is responsible for this move.

"General Matthews wasn't very happy when I decided to pass on renewing my contract. He mentioned several times that Ramon Dias was still out there and that he'd come after me and the people I loved the first chance he got. I didn't believe the General for two reasons. The first reason was that Ramon Dias had no idea who I was. The second reason was because he is dying. When I was last in Colombia, I gathered some intel that showed that Dias had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. There's no way he'd spend his last few months on this earth searching for me when he had no idea where or who I was.

"It looks like we've been set up by Matthews and the group he works with. He is assuming that we'll trace the money back to Ramon Dias and that I'll come crawling back to the government so that I can go after him. They're trying to trick me into coming to work for them.

"Well, I can assure you gentlemen that this is not going to happen. Now that we know that Lester was not taken by the Colombians, we can change our tactics appropriately."

I looked around the room and started giving orders to the men.

"Hector, I want you to access the General's phone and pinpoint his current location for us. I have a feeling that he's gone on a little trip and is not in Washington D.C. at this moment. If necessary, I can call him and we can do a trap and trace."

I then looked at Hal and said, "You have FBI friends and family. Would you be able to find out if the three men we identified as Colombian nationals are actually that? I have a feeling that they're just like us, but working on home soil. They may be spooks or undercover agents, but we need to know so we can track them down."

Next I turned to Cal and said, "A group of us are heading down to Atlanta this evening. I would like you to be in charge of the Trenton office and coordinate the remaining staff assignments. I will be taking Tank, Bobby, Manny, Hector, Junior and Woody. The rest of you need to work together to cover RangeMan while we're gone."

I looked over at Babe and could tell that she was feeling left out. I know she wants to come with us to Atlanta, but I think she'll do more good here in Trenton. I look directly into her eyes and say, "Babe, I know you and Lula are not supposed to officially start until Monday. Would you mind filling in while the rest of us are away? If you two ladies can man the monitors, the remaining guys should be able to cover patrols. Hopefully there are no pending skips that can't wait. If so, we'll pass them off as needed."

Babe looked at Lula and they both nodded. Lula spoke for both of them when she said, "We'll do whatever we can to help out Ranger."

I smiled at them and turned back to the men." I will arrange to have the plane ready to go in an hour. We'll meet in the garage in 30 minutes. That should give everybody enough time to grab a change of clothes and make any necessary phone calls. "

I asked Babe and Lula to stick around and asked them to run searched on the General and a short list of people that were in his pocket. I suggested that if Lula had any other 'contacts' in her pocket that she was free to use them as needed. I don't care how we get the information. I only care that we get it in time to save Lester.

I hugged Babe, who wrapped her arms around me tight and patted me on the ass. In any other circumstance, I'd take that as an invitation, but I was pretty sure she meant it as motivation to go find Lester. I one arm hugged Lula and then ran up to 7 to pack a bag after wishing them luck.

Babe and Lula saw us off in the garage 30 minutes later. Babe gave me a quick kiss and hugged each of the men. Lula looked like she felt a bit awkward. She didn't know the guys all that well so she just stood to the side and watched as we all made our farewells to Steph. When Tank came close to her, Lula said, "Take care of yourself Tank." Tank smiled at Lula and wrapped her in his arms. He whispered something to her that none of us could hear and both were grinning when they separated. We climbed into our cars, waved at the ladies and we got into our zones as we drove towards the airfield.

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Now things get a bit tricky for Ranger and the rest of RangeMan. How will they cope?

Reviews welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but it serves its purpose. :) Enjoy.

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_Lester's POV_

I moved my chair inch-by-inch towards the door. The closer I got the better the sound was. I could now clearly hear words and phrases from the men, but I was now more confused than ever. When I first hear the men, they sounded like they were speaking the Colombian Paisa dialect. Now that I could hear them more clearly, it no longer sounded natural.

Instead, it sounded like the speakers were trying to sound like they were speaking that particular dialect. This made me think about Ranger's last mission. While in Colombia, he was witness to a meeting between 4 of the 5 men who wanted his death. While he was watching the house where the men were meeting, a rival drug cartel threw a bomb into the house.

The four men were killed instantly, leaving only one enemy for Ranger to worry about. Ranger went looking for the 5th man and found him in a hospice. He was suffering from the end stages of pancreatic cancer so this meant that Ranger was free and clear. I think this is the biggest reason why he and Beautiful are now together. He was always afraid that his enemies would use his loved ones as leverage to get back at Ranger.

Knowing that there were no more enemies out to get Ranger, I turned my mind towards my own. Since Ranger and I did a lot of missions together, most of our enemies were the same. I only had two additional men who wanted me dead, but they were not drug cartel leaders. They were the husbands of some very unsatisfied wives who walked away with a smile after they met me. I doubted those men could ever find me let alone plan and carry out a successful kidnapping.

That got me wondering if this was a set up of some sort. Perhaps it was supposed to make Ranger think that the Colombians were after him and his? Would the General be stupid enough to try something like this to get Ranger to sign a new contract? He'd have to be mad to even try. Ranger would figure it out and then the General would be the one in trouble.

I wiggled my chair a little closer to the door so that I could hear more of the conversation going on upstairs. Unfortunately, I was a little too eager to get there and managed to tip myself over, making a lot of noise. It was obvious that the guys upstairs heard me because they stopped talking immediately.

Somebody started walking down the stairs towards me and pushed the door open with great force. I know they had to use a lot of effort because I was lying behind it on my side. The guy who was driving the SUV that collected me from the airstrip leaned over and set the chair right. He grunted as he lifted me and then once I was upright, he looked down at me and shot me with the tranquiliser gun again.

As I looked at the little red feathered dart sticking out of my chest, I thought to myself, "At least I'll get some rest now."

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Note that I've never been to Columbia, nor do I know anything about the various Spanish dialects spoken there. The internet is a wonderful place for information so if anythin is incorrect or misleading, I apologise.

L.


	4. Chapter 4

What's going on? Enjoy.

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_Lula's POV_

Steph and I volunteered for a monitor shift at 9AM. It's now 2:30 AM and neither Steph nor I are in the mood to head back to our respective apartments. Luckily, our apartment on the 4th floor was available, even if we didn't have anything to wear tomorrow.

Steph and I stumbled down the stairs and unlocked the apartment. We each walked into our rooms and immediately came back out again. Steph looked at me and asked, "Do you have a pile of RangeMan clothes on your bed too?"

I nodded and said, "I have loads of clothes on my bed and in my closet and not all of them are RangeMan uniforms."

Steph followed me in and looked through my closet. She smiled and said, "I mentioned our shopping trip to Ella the other day. She must have taken it upon herself to add to your wardrobe. I told you she was a goddess!"

I smiled and bid Steph goodnight, rushing into my bathroom to get ready for bed. I moved the piles of clothes off the bed and on top of the dresser. I found a pair of flannel pyjamas and once I was appropriately attired for bed, I crawled under the covers. The covers felt like silk, and I thought about what Tank had said earlier. He whispered that he thought I looked sexy and he was looking forward to working with me. I smiled at the idea of working closely with Tank. I know we had a bit of a disaster filled relationship but I didn't have too long to dwell on it much because I fell asleep almost immediately.

The alarm went off at 8AM and I was reluctant to get out of bed. I knew I promised Ranger to help out, so I dragged myself into the bathroom and had a nice hot shower. When I emerged, I tried on my first RangeMan uniform. I chose to wear the royal purple t-shirt that had the RangeMan logo embroidered in lilac. The cargo pants weren't all that bad, but they will probably take a bit of getting used to.

I was tying up my boots when Steph stuck her head into my room to let me know that Ella had brought down breakfast. I hurried into the kitchen and sat at the small table with Steph and ate an omelette. Normally I don't like eggs, but these were delicious. I don't know what Ella did to them but I'm going to ask her to teach me that trick. I could easily stick to a diet if all of the food tastes this good.

Steph and I made it down to the monitor room to relieve Zip and Ram who pulled the short string last night. They both had been up for more than 24 hours and looked absolutely exhausted. Cal came in as the guys were heading home to get some rest to give us a bit of on-the-job training.

There were a lot of procedures to remember, but Cal said it was pretty easy. If we spot something on the monitors, press the red button and the senior on-call person will come to the monitors or call in. If we receive an off-site alarm, press the red button. If we receive a call from a customer who is having a problem, press the red button. You see a pattern emerging here, don't you?

Steph looked at Cal and asked, "How do we field customer calls that are not emergencies?"

Cal smiled and said, "Good question. Normally the calls are routed to a customer contact. Since most of our account managers are unavailable today, please offer to take a message. If possible, answer their question or promise a call back. The customers are not to know anything more than the person they are trying to contact is unavailable. We don't want the customers to know that we are low on manpower.

"Ranger has arranged for 2 guys from Boston to come down to help. They'll be here this afternoon and will be taking the night shift. I'll be staying upstairs in Bobby's apartment so I can be nearby if anything goes down."

After Cal answered all of our questions, we set to work watching the cameras. It was a tedious job but I understood its importance. The phone rang a few times, but we were able to deflect most enquiries by taking a message and promising a call back as soon as possible.

Normally, a shift on monitors only lasts for 4 hours. Since we were short handed and the guys with the training and experience were needed out in the field, Steph and I ended up spending 8 hours in front of the monitors. We managed to take alternating breaks to use the restroom and eat our lunch, but by the end of the day, we both felt like we had square eyes.

Cal came in with the two guys from Boston to relieve us. When we stood and stretched, Cal pulled us aside and asked if we'd be interested in going after a skip with him. All the other guys were either sleeping or out on patrol and there was nobody else to spare.

"Who's the skip and what did he do?" I asked.

Cal looked at the folder and said, "His name is Benjamin Ludwig. He robbed a liquor store and smashed a bottle of tequila over the owner's head. The guy ended up with 72 stitches so the bond was set pretty high."

Steph took the folder from Cal and said, "I know Benji. He was a few years ahead of my sister in school. He always was a bit of a dimwit. His mother lives a few blocks from my parents' place. Benji lives in her basement so I'd be willing to bet that's where he is."

Cal smiled and said, "This might be easier than I thought. Let's get suited and dressed and then head out."

Since we were wearing coloured RangeMan shirts, Steph and I ran up to our apartment to change into regulation black t-shirts. We went back downstairs where Cal, Steph and I put on our vests and utility belts before heading down to the garage. Steph automatically climbed into the backseat so I looked at her and asked, "Don't you want to ride shotgun?"

Steph smiled and said, "I'm so used to one of the Merry Men up front that I sat back here out of habit. I don't mind the back, the front is all yours."

I climbed into the front passenger seat and then buckled up. Cal did what all the Merry Men do, as soon as he left the garage. He went into some sort of hype-aware mode that Steph referred to as their 'zone.' He didn't talk but it was obvious that he is fully aware of everything that is going on around him. I want to learn to do that but I'm worried that it might mean I have to give up my Dolby.

Cal parked in front of Benji's house and asked, "How do you ladies want to do this?"

Steph looked at me and said, "Since Benji and his mother know me, why don't I go to the front door. You and Lula can cover the side and back doors respectively. If Benji bolts through one, yell and we'll all converge."

I nodded and said, "Works for me."

Steph waited a couple of minutes for Cal and me to get into position before knocking. I heard her speak to Benji's mother briefly. The next thing I knew, the side door flew open and a gangly looking man ran out and ran right into me and knocked me over.

"He's here." I yelled as he tried to climb off of me. I grabbed out and held on to his arm as tight as possible and only let go once Cal had him securely handcuffed. Steph held out her hand to me and pulled me to my feet.

"That was great Lula. You didn't even get very dirty for rolling on the ground with a skip."

I looked down and had to agree. Maybe Batman and his band of Merry Men wore black for a reason. It didn't show much in the way of dirt. I looked up and saw Cal grinning as he dragged Benji to the SUV. Steph happily sat in the back with Benji and talked to him on our way to the police station.

Benji actually had us feeling sympathetic at his misfortune. He hadn't meant to hit the guy with the bottle of tequila. He was trying to reach over his head to steal it when it slipped from his hands. The story was so pathetic that it was almost funny.

With the body receipt in hand, we headed back to RangeMan. It was now around 7:30 PM and the three of us were starving. Steph called Ella to see if she had something prepared for us for dinner and invited Cal to join us.

Cal needed to stop by the control room to confirm that there were no problems so Steph and I headed down to our apartment and waited for Ella to bring our food and for Cal to join us. I looked in the fridge, expecting water and more water. What I found was water, more water and a case of low-fat beer. I looked up at Steph and asked, "Beer or water?"

She thought for a moment and replied, "How about one of each?" I grabbed a bottle of water and a bottle of beer for Steph and did the same for myself. I placed her drinks on the coffee table in front of where she collapsed on the sofa and joined her.

Ella brought the food and Cal joined us moments later. We ate, talked and agreed to the same schedule for the following day, even though Saturdays are a little more relaxed. Steph and I would be able to take more breaks and we'd be able to play games and the like. We headed to be early because it was a long day and we were all tired.

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More to come... Reviews are welcome.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's a bit more...

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_Ranger's POV_

As soon as the plane landed, we spread out across the city of Atlanta. The guys head out in teams of two with the exception of Hector. Hector went to the Atlanta office to make use of their hardware for tracking phones. Tank and I went with him so Hector could perform his magic and I could call the General.

Before I could call the General, Hector needed to set up some equipment so that it would look like I was physically calling from Trenton. We didn't want to tip anyone off that we were on to them, so we were taking extra precautions. We knew that the General would keep an eye on the RangeMan jet so I did a quick swap with a business man who was leaving Trenton at the same time as us.

The business man would take the RangeMan jet that was a lot nicer than his to California and we would take his jet to Atlanta. Both jets would remain at their destination until the passengers returned to Trenton or another situation came up.

This little diversion wouldn't fool the General for long, but we didn't need forever. We just needed long enough to find Lester and get the hell out of town. I would worry about retaliation once everyone was home, safe and sound.

Tank and I discussed what to say if the General answered the phone and what to do if it went to voice mail. Tank was pretty confident that the General would ignore the first few calls. Tank figured that the General would hold off answering in order to push me in the direction he wanted. The more desperate I was, the more likely I was to sign up to work for him again.

We decided that I would pretend to be a bit panicked if the General answered, but in the far more likely event that he didn't, I'd hang up. When Hector indicated that all of his gadgets were ready, I dialled the General's number and waited as it rang.

As expected, I got voice mail so I hung up after a few seconds without leaving a message. Luckily, that was all that Hector needed to confirm that the General was indeed in Atlanta. We were only able to identify the cell tower that the call pinged off, but now we know the general area where to send the guys to run surveillance on the General.

Hector looked up an Atlanta map of the area where the cell tower is located. Based on the General's A-list habits and tastes, we guessed that he was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. Manny and Junior were dispatched to run surveillance on the hotel. They have been instructed to contact us if they locate the General or if he leaves the hotel.

Bobby came by a little while ago and told us that we need to take turns getting some rest. He insisted that Tank and I take the first shift, so I headed upstairs to the apartment on the top floor of the building. I knew I needed to rest, but I wasn't tired at the moment. I decided to call my Babe. Maybe she had news that would allow me to find the peace to rest.

"Hey Ranger, have you found Lester yet?"

"No Babe, but we have confirmed that the General is here in Atlanta and that leads us to believe that he is likely behind this whole situation."

"How are you holding up Ranger?"

"I've been better Babe, but I needed to hear your voice."

"I'm glad to hear yours as well Ranger."

"Babe. Have you guys found anything? How are your searches going?"

"We haven't found anything concrete so far. Lula was working on one search that kind of hit a dead end. According to the search, the guy died two years ago, but she was unable to locate a death certificate, an obituary or a funeral notification of any sort. She's asked Hal to make enquiries with the FBI and we're waiting to hear back. Lula says it's got 'Fishy Factor' I guess that's her version of spidey sense."

I laughed at this and said, "I agree it's a bit fishy. What's the guy's background?"

"I'm not sure, Lula did the search. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Yeah, but first, I just wanted to tell you that I miss you Babe. You can hand the phone to Lula. I'll call you later. Love you."

"Love you too Ranger."

There was a scuffle and I heard Lula. "What's up Batman? Steph says you wanted to talk to me."

"Thanks Lula, I was just curious about that search you did for that dead guy who doesn't seem to be dead. Can you tell me what he did before working for our client?"

"That's just it Batman, he doesn't seem to have a past. I think he was a plant and I think his name is a false identity. The more I look into it, the more confusing it gets."

I thought for a moment and then asked, "Do we have a photo of this particular employee? Do they have one on record?"

"They don't, but Ram is currently searching through social network sites trying to find photos from staff parties or something. I can have him call you as soon as we find something."

"Thanks Lula, but tell him to run a facial recognition scan before he calls me with the results. I have a feeling that this guy will turn out to be ex-military or a spook."

"Sure thing Batman. Do you need anything else?"

"I don't think so Lula. Thanks for all your efforts, they've been a big help. Keep your Fishy Factor on the lookout and stay safe."

Lula laughed and we hung up. I turned and filled the guys in about this _fishy_ employee. They all agreed that he was a plant to undermine RangeMan and figure out a way to get Ranger or one of the core team to Atlanta.

I called a team meeting and filled the guys in on this new information. Tank had a stern look on his face and said, "I can't believe that the General would honestly think that this plan would fool you?"

I agreed with this sentiment, but it was Bobby who brought things into perspective. "I bet he was counting on you being side-tracked by the Colombian Dias connection. He knows your temper and he counted on that reaction.

"He has no idea that you tracked down Ramon Dias or that he is on his death bed. He is relying on faulty intelligence and we are not. We are several steps ahead of him in this game and he has no idea. I think you should try to call him again and this time, leave escalating messages and keep hitting redial until you contact him.

"When you do get through, explain that Dias has found you and that he's gone after one of your own. Tell him that you want his help tracking down the Colombians in the U.S. and wait for his reaction."

Several of the guys nodded their agreement so I looked at Hector who simply indicated that everything was still set up for me to call the General. I dialled the number I knew by heart and waited for someone to answer. The first time I got the voicemail I left a curt message asking the General to call me back.

The second message was a little more frantic and the third was downright panicked. After the third attempt, we took a break to eat. I didn't care that I was stuffing my face with a cheese and pepperoni topped pizza, it was just fuel. I have also drunk about 5 cups of coffee so far today and my usual limit is one. To say that I was a bit wired would be an understatement.

After thirty minutes, I tried another call to the General. Just like Bobby predicted, this time the General answered. "Ranger, I've just got out of a meeting and had only now listened to your messages. How can I help?"

I took a deep breath and said, "I was hoping you might be able to tell me if any Colombians associated with my last mission have entered the United States?"

"I don't know off the top of my head, but I could look into it and call you back."

"Please General."

"OK Ranger, but you'll owe me one."

I tried not to growl at this comment and simply said, "Time is of the essence. I am a man down and need to find him ASAP."

The General hung up and we sat there staring at the phone, wishing for it to ring with information that would help us save Lester.

* * *

More to come... Thanks for reading. Shall I continue?


	6. Chapter 6

_Lula's POV_

When I started the search for Andrew Roberts, I had a funny feeling that something was off. The more I looked into it, the more it felt wrong. I explained my feelings and the results with Stephanie and she agreed that something was wrong. That's when I devised the term _Fishy Feeling_. Steph had her spidey sense and now I had my fishy feelings. We laughed at the names and got back to our respective searches.

I am now sitting beside Ram trying to figure out which of the guys in a photo was the one we were looking for. The individual people were not tagged so we couldn't tell that way. I suggested doing a Google image search on each of the names and we now had it narrowed down to 2 men.

Ram called both Cal and Steph over to show them our results and Cal suggested that we run facial recognition searches against both men. Ram started off the search and left it to run as we moved on to the next search on our lists.

Ram shouted, "Got him" about 45 minutes later. Everyone in the room rushed over to his desk and looked at the screen. The man's real name was Jacob Maxwell and he used to be a Navy Seal. Cal pulled out his phone and called Ranger.

"Boss, Ram and Lula managed to identify our mystery man. His name is Jacob Maxwell and he is a retired Navy Seal. He only got out a year ago, so it's feasible that he signed on with the General."

I couldn't hear Ram's side of the conversation, but it sounded like Ranger was giving him instructions for something. Ram nodded, agreed to whatever Ranger wanted and hung up. He turned and looked at us and said, "The Boss wants us to run an in-depth search on Maxwell.

"Ranger remembers the name and things he might be from the Atlanta area so we need to do a property search on him and any surviving family members. We can drop the rest of the searches. Ranger finds it unlikely that the General would have expended any more manpower inside that company."

Ram ran a search on Maxwell and found that he was from Atlanta. He did a search for his family and handed Steph and me the list. Since I have never done a property search before, Steph sat with me and we did the first two on the list. After that, we separated and continued to run the list.

Two hours later, Steph finished her list and came over to where I was working to help me finish. I was looking for property owned by his grandmother when a thought occurred to me. I looked at Steph and said, "Could Maxwell's Nan still live in property registered to her deceased husband?"

Steph's eyes went wide and said, "It's possible. Let me look through Maxwell's search to find his name."

A few minutes later, Steph handed me a piece of paper that showed not only Maxwell's maternal grandfather, but also his maternal grandparents, all deceased. I started with the paternal grandfather and plugged in Joseph Maxwell's name into the search program. No results were found. Next we tried his maternal grandfather, with the same results.

Our last shot was Maxwell's maternal grandmother, Bitsy Reynolds. I typed in her name and sat back, holding my breath as the search ran. I wasn't expecting any results, so when the ping sounded to indicate there was a hit, I looked at Steph in shock.

Before I was able to register the result, the computer pinged a second time and then a third. I opened and closed my mouth in shock a few times and then said, "Cal, we got three hits on properties."

Cal came running from over by the monitors. We had three properties in the Atlanta area and Cal took over the computer and pulled them up on the map. He then emailed the results to Hector and called Ranger.

"Boss, the ladies have done it again. They've located three properties that are still registered under Maxwell's deceased grandmother. He most likely inherited them because he is her only living relative."

Cal listened for a moment and said, "I emailed the addresses and the map to Hector."

"Yes Sir."

I thought this was the end of the conversation, so when Cal placed the phone on the table and I heard Ranger come out of the speaker phone, I was a bit surprised.

"Ladies, you've done a tremendous job. It's late, so why don't you take a break. Maybe go to Pino's for some pizza or something."

I looked around the room and said, "I think I'd rather stick around to help Batman, but I like that pizza idea. We will order some in and celebrate our small victory. Please keep us informed about what you find at those three locations."

Ranger laughed and said, "Cal, put the pizza on the company card. We're about to suit up and go check out these addresses. We'll call as soon as we know anything. If possible, we'll be live so you can watch the result yourselves."

After we got off the phone, Ram looked at me and said, "Thanks Lula, I think the pizza will go a long way at relieving some of the stress we've all been under. I think you'll be a great addition to the RangeMan team. You've done really well today, even with all the pressure."

I smiled at Ram and said, "I think I'm going to like it here too. This has been very challenging, but exciting at the same time. I just hope the pizza is enough to work off some of this tension that's been building up."

Ram laughed and said, "If it's not, perhaps we can all take turns down at the gun range. I always find that calms my nerves."

"I like that idea Ram. We'll see how the pizza goes first shall we?"

While we waited for news from Atlanta, we ate the pizza, talked about the job and passed the time as best as we could. Steph pushed her plate away from her and started clenching and releasing her hands so I leaned towards her and said, "White girl, why don't we take Ram up on his offer and go blow off some steam down at the gun range?"

Steph looked at me like I'd lost my mind and then she shrugged and said, "Why not? It can't be any worse than sitting around waiting."

I beamed at her and then looked over at Ram and said, "How about it Gun Man? Would you like to give us a bit of a gun lesson?"

Ram grinned at us and jumped to his feet. "Let's go. My shift is over and you ladies aren't back on shift until the morning."

Ram then turned to Cal and said, "Can you let us know if you hear anything?"

Cal nodded and the three of us headed down to the gun range to try and alleviate some of our stress by shooting at paper men.

* * *

Are you still out there?


	7. Chapter 7

Will they find Lester and what state will he be in?

* * *

_Lester's POV_

I woke up and once again I kept still until I was able to take in my surroundings to see if there was any sort of change in my environment. Straight away, I could tell that something was different. There was no noise coming from upstairs, but I could sense that I wasn't alone.

I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust to the darkness before making any movement. I didn't want to alert whoever was in the room with me that I was awake. I looked around the room without turning my head at first. When I was unable to see anyone or anything different, I slowly turned my head to the right and then to the left.

In the corner furthest from the door was a woman. She was curled up in a ball and looked like she'd been badly beaten. I sat there staring at her wondering if she was awake or passed out. I didn't have to wonder long because she shifted her position in an attempt to get more comfortable. I could see that her clothes were dirty and that her hair was matted, but what struck me as a bit analogous were her hands.

Her hands were dirty, but they were perfectly manicured. I took a closer look at her and saw that the clothes she was wearing were ill fitted and she was barefoot but her feet were clean. Alone, one of these things wouldn't have been odd, but if you put them together, they just didn't add up.

The woman turned and looked at me and saw that I was awake. She started speaking to me in that same Spanish dialect as the men upstairs. I was already suspicious that the men upstairs were acting a role Now that this woman was down here with me playing a victim, I was convinced. I decided to play along and asked her if she was tied up.

When she shook her head, I asked her to come over and untie me. She looked towards the door as if to pretend that she was afraid of her would-be captors. I told her that if she untied me, I'd protect her from the men upstairs, but she remained in her corner, pretending to be afraid of me.

I laughed at this entire charade. If Ranger figures it out, the General will wish he was the one that was captured and not one of us. My ass is getting numb so I hope Ranger and the guys are not too far away. I could do with some food and something to drink as well. With that last thought, I looked up and asked the woman if she had any food or water.

She reluctantly came towards me slowly with a bottle in her hands. She tilted the bottle up to my lips and let me take a few small sips. She then returned to her corner with the water bottle and proceeded to ignore me.

After about an hour, I was getting bored. Part of me was hoping to be shot with another tranq dart. Sitting in the same position with no ability to move for at least 24 hours is painful. I decided that I might as well try and free myself so I leaned forward and put mine and the chair's weight on my feet.

It was awkward to stand with a chair tied to my legs, but once up, I was able to use my weight and a bit of sideways momentum to smash the chair into the wall. The chair was stronger than I anticipated, so it took four more attempts before the chair gave way.

I grinned and stretched my sore and aching muscles, revelling in the movements that were made possible by my freedom. I smiled at the woman and asked her how long she'd been here. She said she didn't' know, but she did make sure to mention that she was from Colombia.

I decided to play along with this little charade and asked her a bunch of other targeted questions. First of all, she said she was kidnapped by Ramon Dias' men and dragged here from Colombia to help with a revenge plot against an American military man. She didn't know any details about the man but she did know he owned a company that had offices in many cities, including Atlanta. Her story was getting more far-fetched the further she went.

In any other circumstances, I probably would have hit on her. She is tall, she had nice long legs and it looks like she has long dark hair. When she was closer earlier however, I noticed that she had a lot of freckles and that a few strands of flame red hair were showing at her neck. She was wearing a wig and she is probably wearing brown coloured contact lenses to hide her natural eye colour.

I stood across the room from her and stared at her for a long time. I wanted her to keep talking so I could catch her in a lie, but she sat down and stared back at me keeping her silence. All this time, there was no sound or movement from upstairs so I assumed that the men had left or were keeping quiet for some reason.

Now that I could move around a little more, I decided that I could use a bit more water so I walked over to the woman and asked for the water. I did this for two reasons. The first one was simple. I was thirsty. The second reason was to see how she'd react to me coming at her quickly.

If she were truly a prisoner, she'd be afraid of me. If she is an operative, she'll hold her ground. She did hold her ground for a few seconds but then decided to change tactic and back away from me. It was clear to me when she made the decision to back away, but I let her believe that I was convinced by her performance and went back to my corner once I had the water.

I stared at her for a little longer and finally decided to end the charade. I didn't want to jeopardise my rescue, but since she was down here with me and it appeared that there was nobody else upstairs, I took a chance.

I looked at the woman and said in English, "Were you guys disappointed that I showed up instead of Ranger?"

The woman's shock was apparent on her face and in her sudden stiff body language. She looked at me and asked, "When did you realise I wasn't who I said I was?"

I laughed and said, "Pretty much as soon as you opened your mouth. I overheard the men upstairs earlier and even though they were trying to speak in a Colombian dialect, they weren't very good at it. I spent a lot of time in that region of Colombia a few years ago and know what they sound like, so when you tried to go along with it, I knew you were in on something."

"What do you think I'm in on Mr Santos?"

"Well, my first guess would have to be that you work for General Matthews."

Her gasp confirmed my suspicions so I continued without waiting for her next enquiry.

"The General is not happy that Ranger refused to renew his contract with the government. Instead of letting go and moving on, he has devised this plan to trick Ranger into thinking that his only remaining Colombian enemy is out to get him. The problem with that scenario is that Dias is as much as a threat to Ranger as a baby bunny rabbit."

The woman looked at me and said, "How to do you know that Dias is not a threat? Our intelligence can't locate him and the last we heard from him, there was a price on Ranger's head."

"There was a price on Ranger's identity from a previous mission. Dias never knew Ranger's true identity. Besides, the reason you and your intelligence couldn't find Dias is because he's probably dead."

"How do you know that?"

"That last time Ranger was in Colombia, only two months ago, he tracked Dias down to a palliative care hospital. He had terminal prostate cancer and it was in its final stages at that time. Dias was checked into the hospital under an assumed name. Ranger only found this out because one of the nurses recognised him and told Ranger."

"Are you serious? The General told us that Ranger was compromised and this mission was set up to try and bring him in quietly. The General lied to us?"

I nodded and said, "I'm sorry, but it looks that way. I pity the General when Ranger finds out."

She grimaced and said, "The last time I spoke to the General, he said that he was sure Ranger would renew his contract for any information leading to your return."

I thought for a moment and hoped that Ranger was just playing along with the General. If not, he might be stuck at his mercy for another 4 years. No, I don't think so, if I could figure out this cluster fuck while tied to a chair, Ranger and the rest of RangeMan will figure it out as well. I had faith in them.

I turned to the woman and said, "The General will just have to be disappointed. Ranger is out of the game. He wants a life, to settle down and perhaps even start a family."

She sniggered and said, "I never thought I'd see the day when Ranger would settle down. It must be an amazing woman to get him out of the race."

"Indeed she is. Speaking of which, do you have a name? I can't keep referring to you are 'hey you,' now can I?"

"I'm Fiona LeBlanc."

"Nice to meet you Fiery Fiona."

* * *

Hmmm... what next? Are you still there? Shall I continue?


	8. Chapter 8

This is where things might get physical... Enjoy!

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_Ranger's POV_

When we got the list of properties from Trenton, I dispatched three teams to discretely check them out. The teams have just returned and we are meeting in the conference room for a debriefing. I walked into the room where the team and the rest of the guys were waiting. I said, "Report."

I'm sure most of the guys would have called it a bark, but I was in a hurry. I wanted to hear what the teams found out and I didn't want any delays. Manny and Junior were the first team to report.

"Boss, Junior and I did a full survey of our assigned property and found no sign that anyone has been there for a while. There is visible dust all over the house and there are no foot prints or marks to indicate that anyone was inside."

I nodded at Manny and then turned my attention to Bobby and Tank. They also had nothing to report. Their property was pretty far gone and disintegrating. Nobody has been there for years.

The last team was Hector and Woody, who spoke in his slow Texas drawl. "Hector and I were not able to get too close to our house because the neighbours were sitting out on their porch. We were able to determine that somebody has been there recently. It rained the night before last and there were visible tire tracks in the driveway. No lights were on but there is a basement that seems to have its windows boarded up. We could go back under the cover of darkness or to watch the house until something turns up."

I thought for a moment and said, "Let's break down into two separate teams. Woody, you and Junior head back to that house now and contact us if there is any movement. Bobby and Tank, I need you to track down some infrared gear so we can see if there's anyone inside that property.

"We will breach this last property once we hear of movement or we get the equipment. Does anyone have any questions?"

Heads shook all around the table so I dismissed the men. I thought I'd take this little break to call my Babe. I dialled her cell phone but after 5 rings, it went to voicemail. I called the control room and they told me that she and Lula went down to the gym to try and work off some of their nervous energy.

I booted up my laptop and then pulled up the security cameras for the gym and watched as her and Lula were taught how to get out of a hold. I laughed when I watched Lula go slack and drag Ram down, effectively escaping from the hold by playing dead. It was a unique technique, one I'm not sure I'd have thought about using it in the same situation.

I sat and watched my Babe as she learned to block punches and to take the legs out from under a man. She was wearing an outfit that was pushing all the right buttons on me. I had to move around and reposition myself on my chair to relieve the pressure on my zipper. I almost groaned when I watched my Babe bend over with her back to the camera and pick up a bottle of water. God I wanted to get home to her and hold her in my arms.

I heard Bobby chuckle and looked up. He was looking at me and it was clear that he was trying not to laugh. I raised an eyebrow and he said, "Do you realise you just said that out loud?"

"What? What did I say out loud?"

"You said that you couldn't wait to get home so that you could hold Bomber. I didn't realise that things between you two changed."

"Things are progressing. We decided to take things slow but I told her how I felt and she told me how she felt. It seems we're actually on the same page at the same time for once."

"I'm happy for you Ranger. You two have been miserable for long enough because you were both too stubborn to communicate."

Tank stuck his head in the room and said, "Junior just called. Two men just went into the house."

I looked at Tank and said, "I want to see the whole team here now. We'll conference in Junior and Woody when everyone arrives."

Ten minutes later, the guys were sitting around the conference room table. "Men, we're going in there to rescue one of our own, but since we suspect that the General is responsible for this, we will not be going in with live rounds. Instead, we'll use tranquiliser guns, tasers and stun guns.

"Despite the fact that we are using non-lethal weapons, I can't guarantee that the men guarding Lester are doing the same. I want everyone to wear their vests and watch each other's back. If Lester is not alone in the basement, it could be a plant. The General once planted a prisoner when we had captured a terrorist. They were able to get enough information from the bad guy so keep an eye out for that.

"Also, if we go in wearing vests, they'll probably be wearing vests as well. If you want to tranq them, you'll have to hit them in the arm or leg."

The guys nodded and we loaded into 3 SUVs and headed out to meet Woody and Junior who were already on site. I kept the line open to them so any change in the target property could be relayed in real time.

Each of the three SUVs parked on a different block and proceeded on foot to where Junior and woody were parked. We spent the next 15 minutes listening to Woody and Junior give us a basic layout of the property and the surrounding neighbourhood.

We were forced to take out one of the street lights just in case one of the neighbours saw us and called the cops. We did it in a way so we could easily turn it back on before we left the neighbourhood. With the street lights out, it would be very hard for any of the neighbours to see anything if they looked out their windows.

Once we were confident that we had all of the available information, we moved in pairs towards the property. We surrounded the building and positioned ourselves so Tank and I would go in the front while Junior and Woody would go in the back. The rest of the men would follow us in the house and clear the rooms as we searched for Lester.

I walked up the porch, taking careful footsteps to minimise any sound. I took a chance and looked in the window and saw two men sitting at a rickety looking table. The men were exactly who I expected to see. They were the men we saw on the cameras from the airport, supposedly from Colombia. The General really didn't think this plan through. The men in this house were not even speaking Spanish. They are speaking English. They are speaking English with an American accent.

Where did the General get these bozos? If this is the quality of men he is working with now, I think the end of my contract couldn't come at a better time. I shook my head at the whole situation and re-focused on my goal to locate and rescue Lester and then get home to my Babe.

I raised my gun, loaded with tranquiliser darts and pressed the button on my radio twice. That was the signal we used to indicate that it was time to breech both the front and the back of the property. Tank kicked the door open at the front while Junior did the same at the back. We rushed through the house, taking out the two men.

We took the men completely by surprise because they weren't even able to pull their guns from their holsters. They were currently lying on the floor beside the table with tranquiliser darts sticking out of their arms.

I picked up one of the guy's gun and was relieved to find it was also loaded with tranquiliser darts. This bode well for Lester, if only we could find him.

"Boss, there's a hidden door over here. I think it leads down to the basement."

* * *

More to come.. What could go wrong?


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile... back at RangeMan.

* * *

_Lula's POV_

I beat Stephanie fair and square in our race. She was now scowling because there is a day of lime green in her future. I'm going to have to talk to Ella to see if she could find a t-shirt that is sufficiently lurid. I looked forward to teasing her about the shirt and I even planned on wearing one myself at the same time so she wouldn't feel so bad. I didn't mind lime green. Bright colours always look good on me. They tend to contrast with my dark skin and bring out my eyes. Tank once told me that I had the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen. Part of me wondered if that was just a line, but part of me hoped it was true.

We moved on to Hal, who taught us how to block punches. It didn't take us too long to be able to fend off basic punches with a medium amount of strength behind them. Hal assured us that a regular skip wouldn't have their training, so they were holding back.

"I promise you ladies that once you're trained up a little more, you'll be able to block much more, but we have to start somewhere. You're doing great so far."

I thanked Hal and then we moved to the next station. This one was being taught by Zip and he was going to show us how to drop to the floor and take the feet out from under an assailant. Both Steph and I were a little reluctant to subject any of the Merry Men to a takedown, but Zip insisted that we try.

Steph went first and got Zip to his knees. I went next and managed to trick Zip and instead of going back to front, I went from front to back. Zip landed flat on his back and the wind was knocked out of him. He was surprised at my tactic and laughed when he finally regained his breath. I held out my hand and both Steph and I helped him to my feet.

Steph hugged me and said, "That was great Lula, I only managed to get him to his knees. You seem to have a 6th sense about this self defence stuff."

I smiled at her and replied, "I'll tell you a secret. Vince gave me the tip about playing dead. He said that it's harder to hold dead weight than a struggling person."

Steph grinned at me and said, "You tricked me, but I plan on following through on my part of the bet. I'll wear that green t-shirt even if I hate it. You never know, I might look amazing in green."

I smiled and said, "I know I look great in green, so if you don't like it, hold on to it for me."

Steph nodded as we moved towards the 5th station. This time, we had to pick a pair of hand cuffs. First, we just needed to pick the lock without them attached to anything. Once we managed that, we had to pick the lock with our hands bound in front of us. I've never had very dextrous fingers, and lock picking seemed to be beyond me at first.

Steph was able to get out of the cuffs on her wrists bound at the front before I could even get the cuffs on their own unlocked. She came and sat beside me and talked me through the process. I wasn't being patient enough. Once I had her help, I was able to get the cuffs open, regardless of where they were fastened.

It took me a little while to open them when my arms were cuffed behind my back, but Steph took longer there as well. She was free only about 30 seconds before I was. We both stood up and hugged each other. I looked around at the guys and said, "I'm going to have to grow my hair out a little so I can conveniently camouflage a hair pin."

Ram smiled and said, "I meant to tell you that I like your hair short. As for needing a hair pin, we've gotten into the habit of keeping several sewn into our cargos or stuck to the back of our belts. Several of us have a lock picking set that fits into our belt buckle. We get them custom made from one of our suppliers, and they prove very handy.

"One of the men found himself taken prisoner last year. He was searched and every weapon on him was found and confiscated. Needless to say, they didn't find the lock picks hidden in his belt, so when they left him alone, he was able to escape. I'll mention it to Ranger when he gets back because there are a few of the newer guys who could use one as well."

Steph and I thanked Ram for his suggestion and turned our focus back to practising getting out of our handcuffs with our hands bound behind our back. While I was concentrating on those all important clicks, I was thinking about where I was and why I was here.

I have to say that I'm really glad to be here at RangeMan. I never really understood what they did before. To be honest, I still don't, but I like the way the employees interact and come together to help one of their own. I am glad to be a part of that and I actually feel like I contributed to the search for Lester, even if it was just helping out with searches and monitor duty.

We were on our 5th station when the action down in Atlanta started. Everyone forgot what they were doing and directed their attention towards the monitors. We watched as the guys geared up and put on their vests and strapped on their weapons.

The excitement only built as they drove to the house where they thought Lester was being held captive, even if nothing exciting was happening on the screen. We all stood silent, crossing our fingers or praying to the gods we believe in that every one of those men would be safe.

We watched as they climbed out of their vehicles and then fanned out around the neighbourhood. To keep their presence a secret, they disabled the street lights so they were not detected by the targets or the neighbours. Police interference right now would definitely get in the way rather than assist in their task.

We watched them take position around the house, and we watched as they kicked open the doors and took down the two men inside. Tank forced the front door open and Junior did the same at the back of the house. The men were inside and everyone was subdued in what seemed like seconds.

I know the men inside were only drugged, but it was pretty cool to watch. Tank looked pretty hot on the screen too. Maybe I'd have to rethink my stance on never dating him again. We'll be working closer together now, so maybe we'd have a better chance of making it. Now I better understand his hours and his dedication to his job. I might even be a little more tolerant of his kitty cats as well.

I heard somebody on screen mention a door that led down to the basement. I was dragged out of my thoughts and turned my focus to the screen. I watched as the guys descended into the dark basement.

* * *

What happens next? More to come.


	10. Chapter 10

We're nearing the end of the third story in this series. How are you liking it so far?

* * *

_Lester's POV_

I talked to Fiona and got a lot more information about the General. It seems that he may actually be mad, or at least on the verge of actual madness. He has been making odd requests lately that include torturing an American citizen on U.S. soil and ordering the assassination of a French diplomat who only had loose ties to Libyan rebels.

Many of the General's current staff is questioning his sanity and none of his sanctioned missions have been very successful. I figure these failures are the result of poor operative choices and because his operatives are wary the legality or the necessity of the missions.

The only reason Fiona and the two men who attacked me agreed to this mission was because the General manipulated them into thinking that Ranger was truly in danger. Matthews told them that the only way Ranger would sign back up and have access to the resources he needed to defeat Dias was if he or one of his men was threatened.

Fiona sighed and said, "It's just our luck that we took on this mission without actually doing any independent research."

The anger was clearly audible in Fiona's voice and I did feel for her. She was just doing her job and she was manipulated by a man she should have been able to trust. I hoped Ranger wouldn't be too hard on her or the two guys upstairs. They never really hurt me.

They guys returned about 20 minutes ago. I could hear them talking but this time, they weren't pretending to be Colombian. I don't know if they realised they had made a huge mistake or thought Fiona's presence down here would distract me enough for them to let their guard down.

Fiona confessed that part of her plan was to try and seduce me. She had heard about my playboy lifestyle and the General wanted me to be protective of Fiona when the men would come downstairs. Matthews figured that if they moved Fiona and left me that I'd forget about Ranger and want to branch out on my own to protect a woman I barely knew.

Part of me regretted that she didn't have the chance to seduce me, and based on the way she kept looking at me, she regretted it as well. Maybe if things don't completely to go shit, we'll get a chance to figure out things could work between us if this cluster fuck doesn't go pear shaped. Yeah, I know, that was a lot of metaphor for one thought, but I might actually like this woman and I hate the fact that this situation may make it impossible for me to find out if Fiona is my Miss Right.

I heard a noise upstairs, but didn't think much of it, knowing that the guys were up there. They probably dropped something or are watching television. I looked over at Fiona and she too looked up as if the noise caught her attention.

I stopped breathing and listened more intently. It sounded like a battle was going on upstairs, but it only lasted seconds. I could feel a change in the air and knew that whoever just came into the house may not be there to rescue me. Just in case it was not RangeMan, I moved further away from the door and blocked Fiona from view with my body.

I felt Fiona cling to me tightly as we listened to heavy boots thundering down the stairs. The door was thrown open, but with the light coming from upstairs backlighting the men emerging into the basement, I was unable to tell who they were.

A flashlight was shone into my face and then dropped. It was raised a second time and this time, it stayed there long enough to expose Fiona. My heart was racing because nobody had said a word. If these men truly were RangeMan, I would have expected them to say something by now. I held my hand up to shield my eyes and said, "What do you want?"

I heard laughter and immediately relaxed. "For fuck's sakes guys, why didn't you speak and let me know who you were? I thought you might be another band of real Colombians here to take out the fake ones."

Ranger walked over to me and clapped me on the back. "Glad to see you Les, but what do you mean by 'fake Colombians'?"

I looked back at Fiona and said, "General Matthews hired a team to kidnap me in hopes that you would think it was Dias. He expected you to ask for his help and resources, for which, the General was going to demand your contract renewal."

Ranger stared at me and said, "We have spent the past 2 days gathering that same intel. How did you figure it out locked in a basement?"

I smiled and said, "Well, the two men who took me from the airport aren't very good at speaking the Paisa dialect. They tried, but I wasn't fooled for a second. The second reason is the second victim they planted down here."

At this, I indicated Fiona and pulled her forward. "Captain Ricardo Carlos Manoso, please meet Fiona LeBlanc. She works for the General. I figured out that she didn't fit the victim profile pretty quickly and when I explained why I didn't buy the whole Paisa thing, she confessed that the General has been acting a bit odd recently.

"Matthews seriously thought that he could get you to sign up again if he pretended Dias had kidnapped me. He was unable to locate Dias and assumed that you'd have the same problem if you searched. He never even considered that you already knew were Dias was located. He was just too arrogant for his own good."

Ranger looked at Fiona and asked, "What did the General say to get you and the guys upstairs to go along with this plan? It all sounds rather farfetched to me."

Fiona walked out from behind me and said, "The General told us that he had intelligence that Ramon Dias put a hit out on you. He also told us that the only way you could be protected was if you joined back up with the General. He showed us evidence and convinced us that staging a kidnap would spur you into re-joining the General.

"Both the men upstairs and I had reservations about the plan, but we went along with it because we have always been able to trust the General. I can't express how sorry I am to have put Lester through this, or you and your men. I only hope that you aren't as ruthless with us as the General has made you out to be."

Ranger laughed and said, "Although I can't say I'm happy that this occurred, I will not lay the blame at the feet of people who were following the orders of a man they were supposed to be able to trust. You have been pulled into a game of chess between the General and me and I can only apologise for that. I will allow you to make it up to by me and Lester if you will support me in ousting the General. He is clearly no longer fit for his role and there are hundreds, if not thousands of lives that depend on him."

Fiona nodded her head and said, "Whatever you need Captain. Will you be heading back to Trenton or will you go straight to Washington?"

Ranger sighed and said, "I think we need to go to Washington. I will have my company jet drop those of us off who are staying in Washington and the rest can head back to Trenton."

I knew that I'd have to go to Washington and give a statement because I was the one held captive. For the first time in my life, I wasn't dreading the trip. I knew it would give me the opportunity to get to know Fiona a little better and to ensure that General Matthews was out of our lives for good.

I watched as Ranger pulled out his phone and called the airport, notifying them that the plane needed to stop off in D.C. before it went on to Trenton. The plane would be ready in 2 hours, so we all loaded up into the SUVs, including the guys still unconscious upstairs.

I managed to spend the journey back to RangeMan Atlanta sitting next to Fiona in the back seat of the SUV driven by Ranger. Tank was in the passenger seat. I looked over at Fiona and smiled when I noticed that she was sound asleep.

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There's only one more chapter to go. What will happen next?


	11. Chapter 11

This is the final chapter in this current story. A new story in the RangeWoman series will follow shortly. Enjoy.

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_Ranger's POV_

I knew that the guys and ladies in Trenton knew that we successfully rescued Lester, but I still wanted to call and talk to my Babe. I needed to explain to her that I'd need to be in D.C. for a few days and that she and Lula should go ahead and start at RangeMan as planned.

I know my Babe and she will offer to come to D.C. to make sure that I'm OK, but I will turn her down. It will be easier for me to concentrate on dealing with the General if my Babe is not around. As soon as we get back to the Atlanta office, I pull out my phone and dial my Babe.

"Hey Ranger, I am so happy that you found Lester alive and unharmed."

"Yeah, me too Babe."

"How are you Ranger? Now that you know the General was definitely involved, what are you going to do?"

"I'm better now Babe. That's partly why I called. I need to go to D.C. to deal with the General and it might take as little as a few days or as long as a couple of weeks. The operatives he used for this mission will stand up beside us and help with the politics of getting him relieved of office.

"I wanted to call you and tell you that I'm really sorry to be screwing up so early in our relationship. I really wanted to take you out again and be there when you started working for RangeMan."

My Babe smiled and I could hear it in her voice when she said, "I understand Ranger. I am not mad, but I won't lie and tell you that I'm perfectly fine with you being away from me. I will miss you and I will be waiting for you when you get back."

"I love you Babe and I'll miss you as well. I promise that I'll do my best to call you as often as I can. I'll only stay as long as I need to. I want to get back and have our second and third dates as soon as possible. I've got to go Babe, we're heading to the plane. The rest of the guys, all but Lester will be back in Trenton after they drop us off in D.C. You can start your training tomorrow as scheduled."

"I love you too Batman. Be careful in Washington and hurry home. Say Hi to Les for me."

"Will do Babe."

I pocketed my phone and walked out to where the guys were gathered, waiting to go home. They were sitting around laughing at a joke Woody just told, but I missed it. Even if I had heard it, I probably would have been too preoccupied to laugh.

I looked around and caught Tank's eye and nodded to my office. I then looked at Bobby and did the same. I wanted to include Lester, but he wasn't there.

Once Bobby and Tank joined me in my office, I said, "Where's Lester?"

Tank grimaced and said, "He escorted Miss LeBlanc up to one of the empty apartments so they could get cleaned up. A guard is outside in case she tries to sneak out when Lester is in the shower."

Bobby laughed and said, "I saw the way they were looking at each other when we first got them out of that basement. I'm not sure that guard will be needed to keep her in that apartment. He may be needed to drag them out when it's time to leave though."

We all laughed at this but I still asked Tank so send someone up to tell Lester and Fiona that we'll be leaving in 30 minutes. I expect them both to be clothed and ready to leave at that time.

Tank nodded and left Bobby and I alone in my office. Bobby looked at me and said, "What are your plans for the General?"

I sighed and said, "I will talk to his superiors and explain the situation. I am hoping that they will relieve him of his command over these operations and give it to somebody with a little more sanity. I just want to put this part of my life behind me and move forward."

"Will the moving forward part of your life include one Stephanie Plum?"

I glared at Bobby and said, "Not that it's any of your business Brown, but yes, I plan on seeing much more of Stephanie in my future."

"I'm glad to hear it Ranger. I've watched you two for a long time now and think that you will both be much happier together than you ever were apart."

I grinned and said, "You have no idea."

Bobby laughed and then left me alone in the room. I started to think about what I should do once all this mess with the General was finally over. Should I take a holiday? Should I bring my Babe? Of course I'd bring my Babe, but where should we go.

A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts and I looked up to see a grinning Lester. "Hey Boss man, how are things?"

"Well Les, I had my first date with Stephanie interrupted to come down here and rescue you, so they could be better."

"I know man and I'm really sorry. Some of the guys said that Stephanie and Lula were pretty integral to my rescue. Is that true?"

I smiled and nodded. "That's definitely true. Steph's spidey sense went off after Lula pointed out some fishy financials. They also were able to find where you were being kept by thinking outside the box. I think they are going to be a great asset to RangeMan. Or at least Steph's spidey sense and Lula's fish factor are."

Les roared with laughter and after he quieted down a bit, he repeated asked, "Lula has fishy factor?"

"Yup, Steph named it, but Lula was really helpful. It also sounds like she got Steph into both the gun range and the gym tonight in an attempt to work off some of their stress while they waited to hear news about you."

Lester's eyes widened and he smiled, "I see that you were right. Lula is encouraging Steph to follow through on the RangeMan requirements. I look forward to working with them both and thanking them for their help getting me out of that deep dark hole of a basement."

I chuckled and said, "It wasn't all that bad Lester. At least you had a bit of company to pass the time."

Lester grinned and said, "Yeah, company."

We both walked out of my office and joined the rest of the men who were gathered in the conference room, waiting for our rides back to the plane. There were 11 of us who needed to be transported to the plane. This included the three operatives hired by the General. They are fully up to speed with the situation now and have apologised to us all several times over.

I got a call to notify me that the plane was all fuelled and ready to go, so we made our way down to the garage and all 11 of us climbed into two 7-seater vans. I rode shotgun in the first van and Tank rode shotgun in the second van as we sped to the airport.

When we arrived, we barely had a chance to take our seats before the plane was taxing down the runway. I had a feeling that several of the occupants would probably take this opportunity to rest, me included. I leaned back against my headrest, closed my eyes, and actually slept until the announcement woke me up when we were 10 minutes out of D.C.

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Thanks for reading and be on the look out for the next story in this series. Thanks for reading and see you soon.

L.


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